Service providers may have the option to extend credit to customers for provided services with the expectation of payment at the termination of a service period. Alternatively, a service provider may require a customer to pay for services before they are provided. So-called prepaid services may allow a customer to purchase services prior to their provision and usage. Accordingly, a prepaid customer may maintain a positive monetary balance in a prepaid account held with the service provider. Alternatively, the customer may purchase units of service from the service provider for use over a period of time. In the example of a prepaid telecommunications service, a prepaid customer may purchase telecommunications services in units such as minutes.
A prepaid telecommunications service provider may establish a prepaid account for tracking the usage of any purchased minutes. Prepaid service providers may limit the access to such a prepaid account to a single customer at a time. For example, once a first customer begins to receive prepaid services tracked by the prepaid account, a second customer will be prevented from accessing the same prepaid account until such time that the first customer is no longer receiving prepaid services. Accordingly, prepaid accounts may maintain a locked status while being used by a customer. Concluding the provision of prepaid services may cause the locked status of an account to be removed.
Telephone networks and the infrastructure for maintaining prepaid accounts and providing prepaid services may not function as expected at all times. Prepaid accounts that are actively being used to receive prepaid services may maintain their locked status even if the customer is no longer receiving prepaid services. Moreover, a system issue may prevent the removal of the locked status of recently used prepaid accounts. Therefore, an account that potentially has an available prepaid balance may become inaccessible to a customer due to a continued locked status. Additionally, if the system does not recognize that the provision of services was halted due to a service interruption, the account balance may continue to be depleted. These situations may require the intervention of the service provider's customer service personnel for resolution.